Melody of Love

Inspirational Song: In My Heart There Rings a Melody

This was a dual challenge for me as our guild challenge this year is Song/Music and I'd been dithering on what to do, so Making Music became my catalyst to design and create a quilt!

The hymn "In My Heart There Rings a Melody" is a favorite in my family, so it came to the forefront as I was letting images flow from songs in my head.

I envisioned the lyrics done in Subway Art style, with elements that focus on the first line "I have a song that Jesus gave me, it was sent from Heaven above" and another line in the second stanza "He put within my heart a melody, and I know its there to stay."

The lyrics were printed on fabric with an Epson printer and then coffee stained to age the fabric.

The heart and inner border are crazy patch style, giving a nod to traditional quilts, the hands are colored pencil on fusible interfacing. The hands are fused on and the heart is machine applique with turned edges.

I chose to quilt lines radiating from the heart out over the words and freehand quilted a swirl in the outer border.

There is a small flange in with the binding to echo the red in the center of the quilt.

Inspirational Song: “The Pine Tree” by Johnny Cash and June Carter

Because there are so many good songs that evoke wonderful visuals, it was hard to choose one. I ended up using “The Pine Tree” by Johnny Cash and June Carter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgWIj7QHyEY

I’ve always been intrigued by how close together pine trees can grow and how sometimes the bottom half of the tree seems to be just trunk without branches.

Most of the background is pieced. The three trees in front have fabric triangles that are raw edge appliqué and yarn that is hand-couched on them.

Usually when I add yarn I like to put it along the seam lines but this time I put just the bottom on the seam line (to make it disappear some) with the angles between the edge and a quilting line. There is a bead where the yarn meets at the top of the trees.

I added some beads in the sky area, a few are clear but most of them are a dark blue because I didn’t want them to stand out much but still provide some sparkle.

The moon is a large button with white fun fur thread circling it to represent a lunar halo (the ring around the moon).

Over the Rainbow

Inspirational Song: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I chose Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I wanted our heroes marching along music strands and the next thing I knew the rainbow was taking off in a whirlwind of color! "It's a twister, Aunty Em!!" I have to admit - the silhouettes were pre-cut. They were leftovers from a project that never got off the ground. The whole thing was fused with Heat 'n Bond Lite and sewn down (around each brick!) and quilted with monofiliment thread. The backing is all green witches! 24"x 35" Lizz Ploppert Sycamore, IL PQ#3-2

You Are My Sunshine

Inspirational Song: You Are My Sunshine

I was pretty stumped with the project for awhile. I had way too many song ideas but no enough time, money, or know how to try them out. (Someday, I am definitely making my "True Colors" idea into a reality.) I turned to my Facebook friends for some help. I got a lot of great song titles but really no inspiration. But three of my friends said, "You Are My Sunshine", which is kinda perfect.

My dear grandparents, whom I loved beyond words, loved this song. My grandpa would often sing it to his "sweetheart" my grandma. They were amazing people and loved each other dearly.

They taught me how a husband and wife should treat each other and how to love people even when they can be difficult. I got my love of music from them. My grandma gave me my love for quilting. I loved them dearly and miss them daily.

I used a multi-toned yellow, a sky blue with clouds, and a great music notes fabric. I even quilted their brand into the lower right hand corner. Finished size is 20 in square. Created in Webster City, Iowa, USA.

Quilter: Janice M

'Lime in the Coconut'

Inspirational Song: “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson

My quilt is called "Lime in the Coconut" and is inspired by the Harry Nilsson song "Coconut." I figured it is a cold, wintery time of year and I wanted a tropical quilt to brighten a room! I crazy quilt pieced the background, and then machine appliquéd the coconuts, limes, and umbrella to the top. The darker brown free motion quilting on the table surface is intended to look like the shadows cast by the coconuts sitting on the table. The coconuts are also intentionally "fuzzy" in the way they are stitched down, that is not from fraying fabric. I wiggled a straight stitch back and forth across the border of the coconuts to get that coconut fuzziness. I free motion quilted the background with limes to keep the motif alive in a sky blue metallic thread. The fabrics are all from my stash, and include every era of fabric since 1940 because some pieces came from my great-grandmother-in-law's stash. This quilt is about 15" square. I live in Reasnor, Iowa on 40 acres in the country, about 45 minutes southeast of Des Moines. Janice Marquardt